1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automotive instrument panel pad, and more particularly it pertains to such a pad fabricated by a molding technique called integral skinned foam process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Integral skinned foam, which has been employed to form instrument panel pads, seats or the like, is produced by means of a process comprising the steps of mixing liquids of polyol, diisocyanate, catalyst and so forth in predetermined proportions, and immediately injecting and foaming the resultant liquid mixture in a mold.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a conventional automotive instrument panel pad formed of integral skinned foam, shown at 4, which is fabricated by inserting an instrument panel 2 in a core mold 1, placing a cavity mold 3 on the core mold 1, injecting a liquid mixture of the aforementioned type in the cavity mold 3, and causing the thus injected liquid mixture to be foamed and solidified. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a meter assembly 6 is mounted in an opening 5 formed in the instrument panel 2. An outfit such as, for example, a cluster lid 7 is attached in such a manner as to cover the meter assembly 6, and supported, at its end portions 7a and 7b, on a marginal portion 8 of the instrument panel 2 which is exposed out of the instrment panel pad 4, so that the instrument panel 2 can be united with the cluster lid 7.
However, the foregoing conventional arrangement is disadvantageous in that the exposed instrument panel pad 4, since it is formed of integral skinned foam as mentioned above, is of a low light resisting property and tends to be subjected to color change due to aging.
To cope with this, it has heretofore been proposed to apply an oil paint onto the surface of the instrument panel pad 4 by previously spraying the oil paint onto a mold release applied to the cavity mold 3.
Disadvantageously, however, a delicate positional deviation or misregistration on the order of microns tends to occur between the cavity mold 3 and the core mold 1 because of the applied oil paint film existing therebetween. As a result, a thin film 9, which consists of a liquid mixture substantially the same as the one forming the pad 4, is formed between the abutting surfaces B-B' of the molds 1 and 3 in such a manner as to cover the aforementioned opening 5 of the instrument panel 2, as shown in FIG. 4.
At a later working step, the film 9 is removed; more specifically, that portion of the film 9 which exists between the circumferential line A-A' of the opening 5 as viewed in FIG. 4, is cut out while that portion of the film 9 which exists on the marginal portion 8, i.e., between A and B and between A' and B' as viewed in FIG. 4, is left as it is, for the purpose of avoiding the occurrence of noise which tends to result from contact between the meter assembly 6 and the instrument panel 2, while at the same time preventing the instrument panel 2 from being viewed through gap 10 between the instrument panel pad 4 and the cluster lid 7.
In the case of the foregoing conventional instrument panel pad, for the purpose of sharply defining the position corresponding to the circumferential line A-A' of the opening 5, the removal of the film 9 should be effected either manually, using a manual cutter, or by resorting to a specially prepared trimming mold. Disadvantageously, however, the former alternative can achieve only a limited productivity and is dangerous, while the latter alternative increases the production cost by the cost of preparing the trimming mold. Moreover, the film 9 tends to be cut out as far as the abutting surfaces B-B' in the case where the adhesion of the film 9 to the instrument panel 2 is weak, since irregularilities are usually present in the adhesion; as a result, the marginal portion 8 becomes exposed. Obviously, this makes the aforementioned attempt to leave the film on the marginal portion 8 as shown by A-B and A'-B' meaningless.